Friday, October 5. 2007
It’s been quite a few years since I’ve seen Megadeth perform live, so I was pretty excited to be covering the show for Club Kingsnake. I arrived about 45 minutes early, got my pass for photographing the show, and went over to check with security to get the scoop on what the rules for the night would be. Then I headed off to the side bar to check out some local bands on the smaller stage.
I came back and got into the backstage area about 10 minutes before show time -- just enough time to get my gear out and have a look at the stage and pit area before the first band came on.
First up was The Confession, a band out of Orange County California. The bands' members Taylor Holland Armstrong (vocals), Kevin Fyfe (guitars), Justin Norman (guitars), Matt Pauling (bass), and Jeff Veta (drums) combine to make a great sounding melodic metal mix with heavy dual guitar harmonies and great solos, which is refreshing these days. Even though the set was short, the band performed with a lot of energy and got the crowd pumped into a head banging frenzy. Two songs really stood out for me, “Burn the Virgin� and “Requiem,� both with great vocals and blistering guitars with a hard driving bass and kick drum behind them. Check out their debut album, Requiem, out now.
Next up was another newcomer to the metal scene. In This Moment just released their debut album in February ‘07 and have just come off a huge summer tour on the Ozzfest Bill. The band -- Marie (vocals), Chris (lead guitar), Blake (guitar), Jesse (bass), and Jeff (drums) -- put on a high set. Maria has a great voice that can be sweet and melodic and turn into a great throaty and almost tiger-like growl. The dual guitars are heavy, and the solos hit you like a brink in the face, backed by blazing blast beats, heart pounding double bass, and heavy bass. The set was short but sweet. The second song was “Prayer,� which seemed to be the favorite with the crowd. They all were screaming along word for word throughout the whole song. Also performed were “Beautiful Tragedy� and “Daddy’s Falling Angel." All on their album Beautiful Tragedy, which would be a great addition to any metal fan's collection.
Next up, the headliners, Megadeth. About 20 minutes before they took the stage, all the others had filtered in from the other stages throughout the club and packed the floor and upper deck to beyond full capacity.
The lights dimmed and the crowd broke into a frenzied roar as Dave took the stage followed by the rest. The band has gone through some lineup changes over the years, but the sound's still the same (fucking amazing) .
They put on a great 90 minute set mixed with new and old. “Sleepwalker� was the opening song, and got the crowd going mad with head banging, fist pumping and of course plenty of crowd surfing. The third song in was “Wake Up Dead,� and I can still remember listening to this in my basement as a teen at 10 on the volume dial (if only there was an 11). Some of the older songs were “Peace Sells,� �Holy Wars,� “Darkest Hour,� and “Symphony Of Destruction.� There were some new, like “Gears Of War� and the remake of “A Tout Le Monde,� which the whole place belted out word for word with the band. At one point, all I could hear was the crowd overpowering the sound from the stage; it almost gave me goose bumps.
All in all it was a great show, the crowd and bands were amped up, and at one point I think I saw a smile on Dave’s face. Check out their new album out United Abominations, and catch them on tour where you can.
Wednesday, October 3. 2007
The Dirty Cherubs
MySpace
The Maze – Nottingham UK
September 10, 2007
The night started early as Ms TR and I rolled into The Maze in Nottingham to see one of her workmates play. Apparently it was a rock band and apparently they were pretty good, by her estimations anyway. I’m always wary of going to see mates' bands as you usually see them before they actually get to be any good. Don’t get me started on the amount of time and money I’ve spent watching god awful bands in god awful hell holes, just cos a friend has been on stage.
So it is my relief and pleasure to announce that I had a really great evening, and for more reasons than one. First, I was really impressed with the venue. I’d never even heard of the Maze before, and found it to be a great little venue. It markets itself well as a small local venue, and their list of shows included some great bands such as 90s favourites RDF. For a venue to actively invite bookings from local bands is a rarity, given how difficult it is in the UK for bands to get decent gigs in a venue of this quality. The sound there is pretty good given the rig they have and it’s well set out with seating and dance floor space, plus a mezzanine to ensure everyone gets a great view. Decent bar and friendly staff makes the package pretty much complete, the only drawback being able to find decent parking.
The second cool thing of the night was the support band, Left of the Dealer I’m arranging to review and photograph this band at a gig in the near future, so watch this space. I’d like to see this urban funk outfit and give them my full attention as they have the potential to become one of my favourite bands ever! I’ve not stopped playing the mp3s their singer Tommy sent to me. Check out their myspace for a taste.
But on to the main attraction. I really did enjoy the Dirty Cherubs. Having met lead singer Dave Capel at the bar before he hit the stage, I was a little concerned that his vocals would be shite. With a thick Scottish accent and half a bottle of whisky inside him, I couldn’t understand a bloody word he said. However, as he took the stage the pissed up porriger turned into some kind of rock god as he belted out the vocals and hit all of the high notes with some style. In barefeet and shades he makes a great front man and poster boy, and has just the kind of image every rock band should have. His guitarist is archetypal rock axe-man type who looks like he’s gonna knock you out, drink your beer and shag your girlfriend. Dropping off stage into the crowd during his solos was just what I expected and he didn’t let me down. The drummer looks like he robs people for fun.
Describing their sound is easy. Think Aerosmith, ACDC and the RHCP. Cool as fuck and totally rock and roll. Screaming air guitar hairbrush classics and sexy smooth rock ballads are the order of the day and the Dirty Cherubs deliver exactly what is says on the tin. Their style is very formulaic, but that’s far from being any kind of criticism at all when you look at the brand. I love their style and they deliver the genre right on the button. Say what you like about your typical Rock God act, pretend that you really prefer cleverly produced musical geniuses, but you all know it’s like comparing a Charles Dickens novel to Hustler magazine. You’d never admit it, but one is a whole lot more satisfying than the other.
Their single recently got to No 1 in the UK indie charts. To be perfectly honest I can’t wait for an album, because they have several tracks which are as good, if not better than this first release. I need to seriously think about growing my hair again, I’m gonna need it for their next gig.
A vid clip under the jump.
Continue reading "Concert Review: Dirty Cherubs, Live at The Maze – Nottingham UK"
Just an update for those of you still waiting for LAST months photo contest results as well as this months. Somehow, someway, with all the thousands of famous musicians in the world we have been unable to find a celebrity to judge the last 2 months contests. It is not for a lack of trying though.
Without resorting to using prior judges, we have asked huge stars, and up and comers, as well as bands I haven't even heard of. We have asked side men, agents, record companies, tour managers, publicists but they either are all on the road, have no internet access, can't be reached or don't even reply. Even celeb's I know personally!
Though I have run through every name in my celebrity phone book twice already, we will continue to ask every day until we find a contest judge but we are sorry for this inconvenience and hope we have it resolved soon. Meantime please keep posting pictures to the contest because we WILL find someone, and if you know a famous musician who would be willing to be a judge, send em our way!
I love to pop a CD in without any knowledge of or preconceived ideas about a band. Foreign Born's latest On The Wing Now ( Dim Mak) was one of these. Out of the mailbox, into the CD player, let's have a listen.
Man, what gorgeous collection of songs. One immediately thinks of early U2, but also Arcade Fire, Tokyo Police Club, many of the current Brit imports and the like. The opener "Union Hall" immediately grabs you and takes you where Foreign Born wants you to go. Then there's a shot from left field. "Into Your Dream" is the closest they come to a rocker.
The musicianship is impressive. Guitarist Lewis Pesacov's composition is often touted, and with good reason. The arrangements are what separates these reverb-washed atmospheric compositions from the nap-inducing Coldplay school of composition. There are super emotive vocals that hearken back to the indie rock of the late 80s and early 90s. The guitar is spartan single note lines mixed with heavily effected riffing, ambient squawks, and noise, all richly and intelligently layered.
And those drums! The percussion is out of this world and is really what lifts this album to another level. Often it seems unrelated to the song playing over it and even the mix has the drums sounding far off and otherworldly. Somehow this works.
The album is like a journey with each piece inescapably linked to the last. This culminates with Never Wrong deliciously building to a crescendo that never quite comes.
Yeah, I dig this record. What a fresh slap in the face of indie rock. Foreign Born has raised the bar.
Monday, October 1. 2007
Girl Talk with Dan Deacon and White Williams
Phoenix Concert Theatre
September 12, 2007
Toronto, ON
I had high expectations going into the show of Girl Talk, aka Greg Gillis, the infamous party mix producer who has made a name for himself in a fairly controversial vein of music. Like precedent artist Dangermouse, Girl Talk takes the work of a plethora of artists before him, from genres all over the map, and creates complexly layered party anthems, that are about as much fun to dance to as they are to listen and try and pick out each artist he has used. I’ve been listening to his second album ‘Night Ripper’ for over a year now and still haven’t named them all. But like I said, I went into this show expecting one hell of a dance party, especially with Gillis bringing fellow DJ Dan Deacon and indie rockers White Williams alongside, and my hopes for a great show were blown away. Far, far away, to the point where I think this show can be placed in a category on its own. Let me try to explain…
Continue reading "Concert Review: Girl Talk, Phoenix Concert Theatre, Toronto"
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